Today, on World Wildlife Day, the World Bank is partnering with ICWICC to “get serious about wildlife crime.” We asked experts at World Wildlife Fund and the World Bank to explain the link between wildlife... Show More + crime and lack of economic opportunity. Some of the answers are collected below. World Bank experts Valerie Hickey and Bill Magrath also penned a blog about why poaching is not a “poverty problem.”Question 1: What is the connection between wildlife crime and lack of economic opportunity?Rob Steinmetz, Conservation Biologist, WWF Thailand -- “As a general observation, regardless of economic status or opportunities, most people actually do not poach. Around protected areas in this region, 99% of people could probably be classified as "impoverished". Yet 99% of people do not poach. If economic opportunity were the main driver of poaching, then wildlife would have been eradicated a very long time ago. The link between economic opportunity and poaching is more complex Show Less -

4. It is Brazil’s fourth poorest stateOffering better public services is even more important when one considers that nearly 17% of the state’s... Show More + 3.6 million people live below the poverty line. Furthermore, 7.1 percent are classified as extremely poor. Manaus, in turn, is home to one-fourth of the extremely poor residents and 48 percent of the vulnerable population.5. Amazonas will use technology and infrastructure to improve the lives of its poorest citizensIn order to compensate for the isolation of its municipalities, in 2011 Amazonas established a geo-referencing office to map the territory and identify localities where the need for new schools and hospitals, for example, is greatest. In the past three years, the state has been using that same technology to improve public safety in the neighborhoods of Manaus: the police can access the map using their cell phones; when someon Show Less -

Although homicide rates have been falling around the world since 2000, in 2012 alone, 475,000 people were murdered, most of whom were men between the ages of 15 and 29. Most of these victims were killed... Show More + by firearms.This statistic is included in the “Global Status Report on Violence Prevention 2014,” prepared by the World Health Organization, the United Nations Development Program and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), using data from 133 countries.The WHO considers interpersonal violence (when an individual intentionally harms another) as a public health problem. This is a worldwide phenomenon that can have severe long-term consequences.According to the report, one of every four children has been a victim of physical abuse (the figure increases to three of every four if other types of abuse are included). One of every three women has been physically or sexually attacked by her partner. Additionally, one of every 17 senior citizens reported having suffered abuse in th Show Less -

De Walque also compared and contrasted the lessons of this epidemic with the recent outbreak of Ebola, and emphasized the need for governments to effectively communicate information and reduce public fear... Show More + that leads to aversion behavior and exacerbates economic costs.Discussant Marelize Gorgens, HIV Trust Fund Program Manager, spoke about the “continual challenge of taking research findings and applying them to policies.” She identified four key areas for continued efforts: Improving the translation of the policy implications of research to governments; better analysis of the cost effectiveness of policies that have multiple benefits, for example, increased education and lower HIV transmission rates; incentives that can promote uptake of biomedical interventions, for example male circumcision; and an increased reliance on biomedical data rather than self-reported sexual or intervention-uptake behavior, which can be unreliable. Show Less -

“Digital channels reduce the cost of delivering financial services to remote areas, and make it possible for financial service providers to offer a variety of services adapted to customers’ needs,” said... Show More + Camille Busette, Lead Financial Sector Specialist at CGAP. “Taking a one-size-fits-all approach to microfinance and financial inclusion is no longer an option. Product design, technology, and delivery channels can all be optimized to achieve impact for the consumer and efficiency for providers.”The research presented at the event is in an important contribution to the field of financial inclusion, and will help determine the path forward. “Evidence from these studies helps us to take stock of what microcredit can do, as well as its limitations as a development tool,” said economist Esther Duflo of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a co-founder and co-director of J-PAL, and co-author of the India and Morocco studies. “The lenders, products, and settings in these six st Show Less -

The 6-kilometer (km) long canal system irrigates 210 hectares of land. So far, at least 3 km of the canal surface has been cemented and improved with support from the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation... Show More + and Livestock’s On-Farm Water Management Project (OFWMP). With $25 million grant support from the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF), OFWMP aims to support on-farm water management investments in five regions (Central, Eastern, Southwest, Northeast, Northern), covering a total of 10,000 hectares. The project improves agricultural productivity in project areas by enhancing the efficiency of water use.According to Hamid Qurbani, OFWMP monitoring and evaluation specialist for the western region of Herat Province, canal systems waste 35 percent to 40 percent of water when not cemented. In addition, the cleaning and maintenance of the canal was undertaken by around 1,500 persons employed by farm owners when the canal was not cemented, whereas, now the same job is done by 5 to 10 pe Show Less -

10 young film crews from 10 different countries around the world were chosen as winners in the Action4Climate competition. As a prize winner in the 14-17 age category, Zura received production equipment,... Show More + including a GoPro and an iPad Mini, which can help him to hone his skills and talents – and hopefully inspire him to create more interesting climate change stories.The Action4Climate competition challenged filmmakers to raise awareness of climate change, share experiences and inspire action by creating a video documentary. The response was overwhelming. More than 230 videos from 70 countries were submitted, bringing to life the serious consequences of climate change across the world and highlighting the actions taken by local communities to tackle it.---------------------------------------------------Connect4Climate (C4C) is a campaign, a coalition and a community dedicated to stimulating local actions that will catalyze larger, international, multifaceted movements to deal with global Show Less -

Following a series of presentations highlighting the CEM and the scope of the World Bank Group’s engagement in Guinea-Bissau, the floor was opened for productive exchanges that established the foundation... Show More + of a road map for Guinea-Bissau’s development. With the recent restoration of constitutional, democratic order following a military coup in 2012, the prospects to turn the page on political instability, anemic growth, and entrenched poverty are favorable.“The World Bank is an engaged and committed partner. Over the course of this retreat, we were able to analyze how all the different sectors are able to contribute to greater prosperity, and how we can work together to implement and achieve the goals outlined in our national strategic plan for development. The diagnostic report that the World Bank presented, the main tenets of which coincide with our vision, reassures us that we are on the right track,” said Prime Minister Domingos Simoes Pereira.The importance of stability was emphasiz Show Less -

The widespread use of electricity for heating is a key driver of growing residential electricity consumption during winter months: from 2009 to 2013 residential electricity consumption increased by more... Show More + than 60 percent in the Kyrgyz Republic. Combined with the poor condition of the ageing power infrastructure and low hydropower output during winter, this increase in electricity load aggravates winter power shortages.About 40 percent of urban households use inefficient and polluting coal-fired stoves or boilers. This high reliance on solid fuels and inefficient heating technologies mean that the Kyrgyz Republic is one of the two most-affected countries in the Europe and Central Asia region for diseases resulting from indoor air pollution.The energy performance of residential and public buildings is poor, aggravating the gap between heat supply and customers’ needs. The age of the building stock, lack of maintenance, and the absence of proper insulation result in high heat losses and low Show Less -

Supporting Climate-Friendly GrowthThe success of the new World Bank green bond was the result of seven years of work by the World Bank Treasury developing the green bond market. It started with the World... Show More + Bank issuing the first labeled green bond in 2008 in response to requests from large institutional investors who were looking for a liquid investment that explicitly supported the financing of climate-related projects. The World Bank has since issued nearly US$8 billion in green bonds through 80 transactions in 18 currencies. The proceeds are helping to finance a range of climate- and environment-friendly projects, including sustainable urban transportation in India, geothermal power development in Indonesia, energy efficiency improvements in China, sustainable forest management in Mexico, and disaster-risk management in the Dominican Republic, among many other projects. Investors, Principles and StandardsThe World Bank has also been d Show Less -

Low-cost carriers, such as the United States’ Southwest Airlines and Ireland’s Ryanair, have transformed the airline industry over the last decade. According to a new World Bank Group book, this business... Show More + model could also help catalyze air transport in the world’s less-developed countries, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa.“This book strives to discover and communicate the premises and prerequisites of the low-cost carrier model, and help countries assess whether this business model could be successful in their particular contexts,” said Dr. Charles Schlumberger, co-author of the book.The book, titled “Ready for Takeoff? The Potential for Low-Cost Carriers in Developing Countries,” strives to offer standard definitions to describe low-cost carriers (LCCs), while also exploring key characteristics and advantages, which include:Simple service offerings, or a “no frills” approach that eliminates free baggage, onboard meals or assigned seatingShort-haul, point-to-point routes that forgo trad Show Less -

Geothermal’s contribution to the national energy mix increased to 51% last week, following the commissioning of two new plants with a combined capacity of 280 megawatts: Olkaria 1 and Olkaria 4 in the... Show More + Rift Valley.Supported by the World Bank Group, Olkaria is one of the largest single geothermal investment projects in the world and geothermal is now the largest source of electricity for Kenya, ahead of hydro which has dominated the country’s power supply for decades. In 2010, geothermal accounted for a mere 13% of Kengen’s power mix.Other partners in the Olkaria project include the Japan International Cooperation Agency, the European Investment Bank, Agency France de Developpement and Germany’s KFW.The World Bank Group is the largest development financier of geothermal power in Kenya and has been engaged in geothermal development since the 1970s. Through its International Development Association (IDA), the Bank has provided funding for feasibility studies, exploration, geothermal steam Show Less -

Q: What explains this lack of skills?R: A recent McKinsey global study demonstrated that 72% of educators surveyed felt that they had adequately prepared young people for the labor market, yet just 42%... Show More + of employers believed that recent graduates were adequately prepared. Compared with the other countries studied, the difference in perceptions was particularly marked in two Latin American countries (Mexico and Brazil).The exact causes of the lack of skills are not clear. But there are some theories. First, the quality of education: the skills acquired do not meet the standards or the needs of the labor market. Second, schools are only just beginning to change teaching practices to teach high-level cognitive skills, which are learned through active problem-solving, teamwork and project-based learning. Third, throughout the world, teaching socio-emotional skills has been left to the home environment. We recently completed a study which found that primary school is the ideal time to teach Show Less -

In addition to the central role of water in Zimbabwe’s agricultural sector, water availability also has direct social and economic implications for other sectors such as health and energy. Energy production,... Show More + which underpins most other production sectors, relies largely on the flow of the Zambezi River either for hydropower generation or for the cooling of thermal power stations. Industrial output from many agricultural processing industries also relies on power availability and on water for processing. Zimbabwe’s mining sector ultimately relies on water for both processing and electricity production, as well.Zimbabwe’s national strategy will mainstream an integrated response to climate change across all key economic sectors in order to minimize detrimental impacts and seize economic and social opportunities.Building resilience to climate related hazardsThe World Bank Group paper highlights how human-induced climate change is likely to intensify natural climate variability in Zimbabwe. Show Less -

Better data monitoringThe report also found that with a few exceptions the World Bank’s projects that were reviewed did not include air pollution control as a primary objective. As a result, these projects... Show More + missed the opportunity to collect critical data, and establish baselines that would help measure the success of air pollution reduction interventions that they supported. Many developing countries lack the infrastructure and standardized methods to collect and interpret data that might inform better decision-making and help set national air quality standards. Better data and systematic monitoring are necessary if countries hope to respond to pollution. Sound analytical data and monitoring of changes over time were some of the critical factors of success in Santiago, Chile, for example, where authorities implemented cleaner transport solutions that were successful in lowering air pollution.World Bank projects in Chile, Mongolia and Peru demonstrate the importance Show Less -

The next time you open your pantry or refrigerator, take a minute to list the foods stored there. Do you know who is responsible for getting those foods to your table? Contrary to what you may think, women... Show More + contribute to at least half of food production worldwide.This is what experts call the “feminization of the field.” In Latin America and the Caribbean, between 8% and 30% of agricultural production is managed by women, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). But far from being a recent trend, this is a centuries-old reality that has only been recognized in the last few years. “In Latin America, women have always worked in agriculture, but they were never in charge of their farms like they were in other regions of the world,” said Barbara Coello, a rural economist specializing in gender and nutrition and a World Bank consultant. “These statistics only became available recently.”Women’s participation has become especially evident in Central America Show Less -

WASHINGTON, February 18, 2015—More and better data about women and girls can shed light on all aspects of their lives, identify new ways of empowering them, and even stem forced or child marriages, according... Show More + to World Bank Group and other experts.Gaps in data can result in uninformed policy decisions as well as missed opportunities to improve the lives of girls and women, and more investment in gender-disaggregated data is badly needed, experts told a panel discussion here.“Lack of formal identification disproportionately affects women and children. There are 750 million children across the world whose births are not registered,” said Mariana Dahan, Identification for Development (ID4D) coordinator at the World Bank Group (WBG). “Registering girls at birth and marriages can prevent forced marriages and help girls in inheriting property and assets.”Mayra Buvinic, senior fellow at the United Nations Foundation, said one way to expand available data is to increase sample sizes during surve Show Less -

Even before entering FENAD, the small brick-making factory, the noise is deafening. In the middle of the yard, Chevelin Nicolas, the manager, oversees operations and sometimes lends a hand sorting... Show More + sand, mixing, loading the machine, completing the production of cement blocks, and stacking them so that they are well protected from the sun—all critical steps in making blocks suitable for construction.“We chose to build this factory because the area (Delmas 32) was completely destroyed after the earthquake and we decided that the people must be able to rebuild using high-quality materials,” says Nicolas, adding “these blocks have passed the tests administered by the Ministry of Public Works.”“This Project Has Allowed Us to Expand”With 40 workers from the community, 50 indirect workers, 1,500 bricks sold daily, and up to 150,000 gourdes (approximately US$3,200) in monthly profit, these numbers truly represent a success story for a company that started out with ten workers and sold at Show Less -

The GPSA awards grants ranging from $500,000 to $1 million for three- to five-year periods to CSOs based in countries that have agreed to participate in the GPSA. To date, 40 countries have opted-in. Before... Show More + issuing calls for proposals, the GPSA organizes consultations with government, civil society, and other donor agencies to define the key governance issues in each country that CSO proposals should address.GPSA Program Manager Roby Senderowitsch said, “Our program works to ‘close the loop’ by empowering citizens with a voice, helping governments to listen, and supporting public institutions to respond to citizen feedback.”After two calls for proposals in 2013 and 2014, the GPSA has awarded over $16 million in grants to 23 CSOs for projects in 17 developing countries, with another 57 organizations involved directly as project partners and more than 125 local – often grassroots – organizations benefiting from the grants as mentees. Special emphasis is placed on issues that directly aff Show Less -